Post navigation

The System That Thrives On Women

By Countercurrents.org – Women have been made commodities in the world market system, and the market thrives on the “commodity”. The system begins the function of profiteering with women in economy. Then, it shapes society, culture, etc. Attitude and behavior pattern are parts of these. The following news reports show only a tiny fraction of the state of women the world market system has shaped:

Quest for beauty

A BBC report by Jonah Fisher (Oct 27, 2012, “The cost of being “pretty” in Thailand”) on product promoter women and cosmetic procedures market in Thailand, a country with a growing reputation for cheap and dangerous cosmetic procedures, said:

They’re beautiful and for the right price will promote anything from washing powder to luxury cars.

But working as a product promoter or ‘pretty’ in Thailand is an occupation where image counts for everything.

At 32, Athitiya Eiamyai had reached the age when most “pretties” start to find demand for their services falling.

For a decade she had batted her eyelashes and flashed a ready smile to promote everything.

But for Athitiya, or Kratae as everyone knew her, retiring gracefully from this $100-a-day job was not an option. She had parents and siblings who depended on the money she earned and she told her friends she was determined to fight ageing every step of the way.

In the last five years of her life, she had invested thousands of dollars into altering the way she looked. Her skin had been lightened and she’d had several rounds of surgery to change her nose, narrow her jaw and augment her breasts.

But according to her best friend and fellow pretty Pim Saisanard, she still wasn’t happy.

‘She [Kratae] wanted bigger hips to match her bigger breasts. And she said that would make her perfect.’

The filler is not cheap and despite Bangkok being one of the cheaper places to have surgery the procedure costs $2,666. So one of Kratae’s friends put her in touch with Thanat Natveerakul, a stylish young man who went by the nickname ‘Dr Pop’.

Natveerakul was no doctor, and had very limited experience of cosmetic surgery, but he did have a good reputation among the ladyboy community, having helped many of them achieve a more feminine shape.

He agreed to meet Kratae in an apartment and inject her buttocks with gel filler for a cut-price $1,333.

Exactly what went wrong with the procedure is still unclear. But in the minutes after the gel was injected Kratae complained that she was having trouble breathing.

It seems likely that instead of finding fatty tissue Dr Pop injected the filler directly into an artery. The gel would then have traveled into her lungs, created a blockage which in turn led to her brain being starved of oxygen.

In a panic Dr Pop drove Kratae to the hospital but shortly afterwards she collapsed into a coma from which she never recovered.

Three weeks later, her parents agreed that the ventilator should be switched off and she was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.

The Bangkok’s House and Condominium Show was the sort of event that provided Kratae with work year after year. Not surprisingly the pretties’ smiles this year were more forced than normal.

Alisa Phaiboonnantanpong said: ‘All the pretties are having surgery, at the very least Botox.’

Alisa herself is no exception. At the age of 25 she has already had a number of procedures, including the painful removal of eight teeth to reshape her jaw.

She says her aim and the image which many of the Thai pretties crave is what’s known as the “Korean look”. Light skin, an oval-shaped face and a high bridge on the nose.

When Kate Moss landed the Calvin Klein ad campaign with Mark Wahlberg, it helped propel the then-teen to superstardom in the modeling world. The black-and-white photos, snapped in 1992, featured the two stars pressed up against one another with Wahlberg’s muscular arms (and abs!) a stark contrast to Moss’ frail frame. While the images have become an iconic representation of the era, and launched the ‘heroin chic’ look of skinny models with dark circles under their eyes, Moss has regrets about participating in the shoot, saying it caused her emotional issues. Read more…

Recent Comments

This group is very positive and active – come join in the conversation!

You will find many 1000's of posts here from many members and sources. We have over 75,000 members who registered to be able to either contribute posts or to comment on them. Just take a look at the All Posts Page to get an idea. There are also ways to choose posts to look at via specific categories in the navigation area on top as well as some filtering to show recent posts, recent comments, and calendar date choosing of posts in the right sidebar. New posts and content are added daily! For anything related to hippies past present and future you have found your new cyber home to crash in!
There is much more here as well. We have just opened some onsite forums so do drop by and tell about what is on your mind. Anyone can read them however you will need to register if you wish to post.
A number of Videos can be found on the Videos Page